Saturday October 20, 2007 18:17
Posted by MV as Websites
For the lighter side of my blog, let’s talk about videos. I know that YouTube needs no introduction and I won’t believe that you have not seen a YouTube video yet. Now, if you are a gamer you’ve probably watched videos that gamers have recorded and encoded, splitting to multi-part videos on how they beat an entire game from start to end. Honestly, would you watch a game instead of playing it? If you are too eager to watch game videos then watch from the real source of game video entertainment.
There is only one website I know that exhibits game franchise history with deep details and trivia that game enthusiasts would love to watch — Gametrailers.com. You can even download the videos from the website in different formats such as .mov, .wmv or iPod-ready mp4.
These retrospective easily sets apart Gametrailers.com from any other game websites I know. There are game reviews and even previews in Gametrailers.com but these retrospectives do not only review games — each retrospective takes a good look on the influences of the game during its time and often describes how a game developed from one simple franchise to one of the most prolific one.
To give an example, let me introduce the Final Fantasy retrospective. It is the longest retrospective in Gametrailers.com right now, spanning 13 episodes. It’s not even finished yet so I’m looking forward to how these guys are going to end it. There are a lot of information in each episode. If you have not played any of the games prior to FF VII, then you’ll need to watch these videos to appreciate the older FFs. Be prepared to watch some spoilers but rest assured, spoilers are kept to the minimum. Sometimes even game reviews cannot prevent spilling some spoilers to let the editors explain the game plot easier.
Now, I’m not really a Zelda fan but I appreciate adventure RPGs as well. I’ve played Zelda once in Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) but I didn’t finish it. Watching the retrospective videos not only gives me the overview of the series but it also enrich my understanding of the game history. I wanted to play the series from the beginning but it’s going to be troublesome finding old Nintendo hardwares and classic games like Zelda.
I’m sure you’ll think twice in watching game videos in YouTube again. I encourage you to visit Gametrailers.com and watch more videos!
Wednesday October 17, 2007 23:22
Posted by MV as Randomness
Sword in hand, a warrior clutches stone to breast.
In sword etched he his fading memories.
In stone, his tempered skill;
By sword attested, by stone revealed.
Their tale can now be told.
It is already out in US since October 9, and just recently Play-Asia is already shipping this game! I want to play Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions but I don’t own a PSP. I’m in a tight budget recently so purchasing PSP would just put my financial planning in disaster again.
I have already finished this game in PS1 but this PSP port offers new anime-style cinematics, new jobs, multiplayer feature and brand new English translation! The new English translation alone warrants a purchase because when I played this game, I only understood half the story due to inconsistent name spellings and bad grammar. Its half-baked translation didn’t stop me enjoying the game though.
If you are reading this and feels generous on buying me a copy of the game (including PSP) — you can contact me privately regarding this matter. 
Oh… just a side note. If you notice the logo of FFT:TWOTL, you’ll find that a Lancer (Dragoon) is jumping high and is dominating the center of the logo. It’s one of my favorite job in the game and certainly helpful in tough boss battles. I easily defeated the final boss by using “jump” ability.
I’ve been playing the open beta of Rising Force Online – Philippines a.k.a. RF Online – Philippines or RFO-Ph. Whenever you launch the game there are 3 music that play randomly when you open the login interface and one of them includes lovely lyrics in english. The other 2 music are instrumental renditions — a piano solo and a symphonic version. I was intrigued so I searched for the title of the song. I transcribed the lyrics that I could understand and I googled it. Alas, I found it! The name of the song is “One”. In fact the title is already in the filename of the MP3 background music that comes with the game under C:\Program Files\RF Online\Snd\Bgm\1_RF_Online_ONE.mp3. (Maybe it’s not there anymore. It could have changed.) It was sung by So Jung Lee and it was originally used in Japanese drama series “Friends”.
Anyway here’s the lyrics for the song. 
Title: One
Artist: So Jung Lee
When I saw you for the first time
I knew you were the one
You didn’t say a word to me
But love was in the air
Then, you held my hand
And pulled me into your world
From then on, my life has changed for good
Now I’ll never feel lonely again ’cause you are in my life.
Love, how can I explain to you
The way I feel inside when I think of you.
I thank you for everything that you’ve showed me.
Don’t you ever forget that
I love you
Love, I know that someday real soon
You’ll be right next to me
Holding me so tight, so I will always be yours
Although we can’t be together now
Remember I am here for you
And I know you’re there for me.
Whenever I long to be with you,
I just close my eyes and pretend you’re here
I see you, I touch you, I feel you, like real
Nothing can ever change
When I feel inside.
How long must I be far away from you
I don’t know dear, but I know
We are one.
UPDATE:
Many years had passed since I posted this in my blog and I still get quite a lot of questions about this song. I don’t know how to play this in the piano but I can play this in flute and bass using the music sheet I found somewhere. Let me know if there is a better source. Anyway, just grab this music sheet below before it’s gone. Good luck.
The One Music sheet
Related Links:
Rising Force Online – Philippines
